DARPA’s mission is to prevent technological surprise for the United States and to create technological surprise for our adversaries.

DARPA’s strategy for accomplishing its mission is embodied in strategic thrusts. Over time, as threats and opportunities change, DARPA’s strategic thrusts evolve. Today there are nine strategic thrusts that are key national security research areas building the foundations for innovative joint warfighting capabilities to defeat existing and emerging national security threats.

DARPA’s main tactic for executing its strategy is to constantly search worldwide for revolutionary high-payoff ideas and then sponsor projects that bridge the gap between fundamental discoveries and the provision of new military capabilities.

Another unique feature of DARPA is that the Agency has very limited overhead and no laboratories or facilities. Again, the idea is to minimize any institutional interests that might distract the Agency from its imperative for innovation.

How DARPA Does Business

If you aren’t interested in joining DARPA as a term government employee, DARPA also provides funding for scientists and engineers at universities and companies to perform a wide range of research projects. This R&D funding is part of DARPA's strategy to accomplish its mission by providing a forum for the evaluation of competing scientific and technological ideas.

Entities seeking R&D support should first understand the Agency’s strategic focus. The Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOps) web site gives an overview of some of the opportunities currently available. In addition, attending DARPA’s periodic systems and technology conferences is another way to learn about the technical ideas of interest to DARPA.

Read more about DARPA’s strategic plan.

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DARPA SNAPSHOT:

With fewer than 20 senior technical managers and about 140 technical Program Managers, it is easy to make decisions at DARPA. This management style is essential to keeping DARPA entrepreneurial, flexible and bold.